Short notes on Chalcolithic Farming Cultures

The local chalcolithic farming cultures of western, central and eastern India in the second and first millennium BC were basically village settlements characterised by (a) painted pottery, mostly black- on-red type, and (b) a highly specialized stone blade/ flake industry of siliceous stones.

Limited use of copper has been noted. The people lived in circular and rectangular huts, and pit dwellings. They practiced farming and animal husbandry. These cultures, named after their sites, are:

(i) Kayatha Culture, 2000-2800 BC-Kayatha is east of Ujjain on the bank of Kalisindh. The pottery is thick, sturdy red-slipped ware with dark brown designs painted on them.

(ii) Ahar or Banas Culture, 2400-1400 BC-It is named after River Banas or the type site of Ahar in Udaipur, Rajasthan. It is marked by an absence of Microliths tools, with the exception of a stone- blade industry in Gilund, a regional centre. The pottery is black and red ware, painted white.

(iii) Savalda Culture, 2000-1800 BC-It is named after the site of Savalda in Dhulia district, Maharashtra, and is limited to the Tapi Valley. The pottery is black-on-red with designs of birds and animals painted on it.

(iv) Malwa Culture, 1700-1200 BC in Central India and 1700-1400 BC in Maharashtra. This culture was discovered at Maheswar and Navadatoli in Nimar district, Madhya Pradesh. Most extensive settlements in Maharashtra are Prakash (Dhulia district), Daimabad (Ahmednagar district) and Inamgaor (Pune district).

A large number of sites have been found in the Malwa region. The pottery is of course fabric with a thick buff slip and dark brown or black patterns.

(v) Prabhas Culture, 1800-1500 BC-Named after Prabhas Patan in Gujarat, the pottery is derived from the Harappan black- on red painted ware.

(vi) Rangpur Cul­ture, 1400-700 BC- Named after Rangpur in Gujarat, the pot­tery is similar to Prabhas ware.

(vii) Jorwe Cul­ture, 1400-700 BC-The type site is Jorwe in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. This culture covered mod­ern Maharashtra ex­cept parts of Vidarbha and Konkan coastal region.

The largest sites have been dis­covered at Daimabad (Godavari valley). Others are Nevasa (Ahmednagar district), Handoli and Songaon and Nasik. At Prakash, Daimabad and Inamgaon, settle­ments appear to suc­ceed the Malwa culture.

It is essentially a rural culture though the urban stage was traced in Daimabad and Inamgaon. The pottery is painted black-on-red ware with a matt surface.

Housing Patterns:

Burnt bricks were used to build houses as also wattle. Rectangular and circular houses belonged to the earliest Chalcolithic phases, while to the later phase (1300-1000 BC) is assigned the discovery of a house with five rooms and a granary close to it.

Social Organization:

Two types of sites repre­senting regional centers and settlements have been found. This is believed to indicate both the presence of an administrative set up and a social organization marked by ranking. The remains of fortifications, granaries and moats strengthen the view than an administrative authority was present in these cultures.

Religious Beliefs:

Excavations suggest that the Chalcolithic communities venerated the mother goddess. Headless female figurines have been found and probably point to worship of fertility goddess.

A bull figurine found at Inamgaon along with terracotta figures of bulls from Malwa and Rajasthan; show the bull as the symbol of a religious cult. Male figurines are not common.

Disposal of the Dead:

Burial of the dead was the prevalent custom with the bodies placed in a north-south direction. Adults were mostly buried in an extended position. Children were given urn- burials, in single pots or in two pots placed mouth to mouth, horizontally, in a pit.

A site in western Maharashtra has revealed burial of a large number of children. This has given rise to the suggestion of high infant mortality. The grave furnishings were usually pots and ornaments. In the Jorwe period, the portion below the ankle was chopped off in case adults before burial.

Burials of children and adults were within the house. May be there was a belief that the dead could thus be prevented from becoming malevolent ghosts. An unusual burial at Inamgaon; was a four-legged urn burial (of unbaked clay) with the skeleton of an adult male in a sitting position. The ankles, in this case were not chopped off.